Hogwarts' New Apprentices
by gyhardin
Summary: YYHHarry Potter Xover. Voldemort was vanquished on the Samhain of Harry’s 7th year in Hogwarts. However, the Dark Lord is back and he’s stronger than before. Unfortunately for him, he did something that called upon the most powerful tantei team in Reikai
1. Death and Breakout in Reikai

**Hogwarts' New Apprentices**  
_by gyhardin_

Summary: YYH/Harry Potter Xover. Voldemort was vanquished on the Samhain of Harry's 7th year in Hogwarts. However, the Dark Lord is back and he's stronger than before. Unfortunately for him, he did something that called on the most powerful tantei team in Reikai to bring him down once and for all.

A/N: This story starts two years after the end of YYH TV series and after the OotP book of Harry Potter (obviously). This is non-yaoi. There will probably be a bit of romance on latter chapters. Pairings are canon & non-canon. Translation of Japanese words and other explanations will be found at the end of each chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH and Harry Potter. We all know who own them. Mine is just the story plot.

Chapter 1: Death and Breakout in Reikai

Flurries of blue, marsh green, and orange oni were moving to and fro in the busy offices of the Reikai Palace. The whole floor was dotted with many cubbies and tables where onis were taking calls and doing paperwork. A harried shout could be heard from the main office of the prince of Reikai calling for George, his trusty blue assistant. George was a yellow-haired, blue-skinned oni with pointed ears, fangs, and horn on top of his head. He was browless and pug-nosed who wore a yellow & black tiger-print loincloth and went around walking barefoot.

He immediately extracted himself from his paperwork and left his cubicle to attend to the prince. "I'm here, Koenma-sama." George skidded to a halt in front of the prince's table, breathing heavily.

He faced the adorable looking toddler prince who was sucking on a blue pacifier. Koenma, who was half a millennium old, had a "Jr" on the rim of his blue dome-like hat. He wore his usual pink-cuffed blue tunic that was tied with a red sash around the waist over plain yellow ochre clownish pants in his toddler form.

"Where is Botan? This is urgent. I want her here NOW!" the small prince slammed his fist on the desk, his face twisted in a scowl.

"Gomen nasai, Koenma-sama. Botan has gone to Ningenkai to ferry a spirit here. She left a few minutes ago," the blue oni cringed and hurriedly explained.

"Dispatch another girl to take over her duty and give her this note. Make sure that the girl tells Botan to read this at once," he scribbled a note and handed it over to George, "before she comes back here. Don't take long; I need you to be back here ASAP. There are more directives I need to leave with you before I go to Makai."

"It shall be done at once, your highness!" George saluted and hastened to do the prince's bidding. It only took him a minute to do it, so he immediately returned to Koenma's side.

"Good, you're back," mumbled Koenma as soon as he noticed the oni's return. "I have to go to Makai to talk to Mukuro." Koenma informed George while rummaging through a pile of papers to get some documents he needed to bring with him. As soon as he gathered the papers in a folder, Koenma took on his adult form. Gone was his comical hat, instead, the "Jr" letters were now on his forehead with his brown bangs not long enough to cover them up. He now looked to be in his twenties wearing a blue sleeveless Chinese robe over his white long-sleeved tunic and ochre slacks with a red sash around his waist, a red cape and black leather shoes.

"Botan will be here in a short while with Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama. I want you to stay here in my office and wait for them to arrive. Tell them I'll be along shortly, hopefully with Hiei in tow. Make them wait for me and inform them that I have an urgent mission for them. This is one mission that will need all four of them together. But this time, Botan will be joining them, he told George.

"Hai, Koenma-sama! They'll be here upon your return." assured George as Koenma tucked the folder in his side and strode to the exit. "Please be careful, sir." He added under his breath. Makai, the demon world, was a highly dangerously place and he knew that his master was no fighter.

oo

In Ningenkai, in a non-descript small apartment in suburban Tokyo, Botan could be seen approaching the spirit of an elderly woman who was hovering over her dead body. Botan was about to introduce herself when she heard an indistinct shout coming from outside. She went out the door, craned her neck high and squinted her eyes against the glare of the sun to see a black dot in the distance that was rapidly taking shape as it neared her. She realized that it was another ferry girl on an oar that was yelling for her. It was Ayame and she was zooming straight for her.

"Good thing I caught up with you!" panted Ayame as she slowed down to a stop in front of Botan. "I have an urgent message for you from George and that I'm supposed to take over your duty today." She took out a note from her pocket and handed it over to Botan. "George said that this is from Koenma-sama. You are supposed to read this first before you head back to Reikai."

"Arigatou, Ayame-san." Botan accepted the folded note and read it at once. After she read the note twice, she looked back up at Ayame and asked, "Where is Koenma-sama? Why didn't he just use the communicator like he usually does when he needs the gang?"

"I have no idea but I surmise that it had something to do with what happened yesterday. However, he's not in Reikai right now. I heard from George that he was in a hurry to go to Makai, said something about Mukuro and Hiei-san." Ayame shrugged her shoulders.

"What happened yesterday? I was so busy for the last 3 days with all the spirits I had to ferry over that the days went by me like a blur." Botan queried, peaked with curiosity.

"Can't talk now!" Ayame shooed away the blue-haired deity. "George kept on stressing that this is urgent and that you have to comply at once to what the note has instructed. So go now and do what you have to do. I think Koenma-sama will be expecting you to be there before he gets back from Makai."

"Hai, hai! I'm going." Botan took out her oar and hopped onto it hovering a few feet off the ground. "I'd better get Kurama first. He's a lot closer here than the other two." She mumbled while looking around, re-orienting herself with the city's layout. She looked back at Ayame and called out, "Okay, I'll be going now! Ja ne, Ayame-san." She waved at Ayame then headed for Tokyo University.

A bell rang as she reached the Hongo Campus, signaling the time for lunch. _'Good thing, I got here at this hour. Kurama will not be in class right now,'_ she muttered to herself. She landed at a shadowed corner of a U-shaped building and transformed her pink kimono into a modern outfit of blue denim Capri pants and yellow ruffled gypsy blouse. She made herself a fake ID and left it hanging on a string around her neck. She needed to pass up as a student there to home in on Kurama's reiki. She hurriedly went inside the building, passed through a bookstore and an indoor pool before she found the cafeteria where she felt his reiki.

Kurama, better known by his human family, friends and acquaintances as Minamino Shuuichi, was in his second year as an undergraduate of Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences taking up Botany. His affinity to plants made him decide on taking it up in college. The Department of Science was located in the Hongo Campus of Tokyo University. He usually went to the old building of the Faculty of Science for his classes, which was just the inverted U-shaped building behind the one where the cafeteria was located. So it was a short distance for him to travel to have his lunch after he stowed his things in his locker.

The distinct long red hair of Kurama could be seen above the varied colored-hair of women surrounding him. "Hi, Shuuichi-kun!" waved Botan to him, making her way over to where he was sitting.

Kurama whipped his head to the entrance of the cafeteria as soon as he heard his name. An audible sigh of relief was heard by all of his fangirls when he saw the owner of the voice who called him. "Ah Botan, am I glad to see you." He pushed his seat from the table, stood up, lifted his tray and met her halfway. Kurama, with his handsome looks and silky long red hair, was looking quite gorgeous wearing a white zip-front sleeveless vest with hood and kangaroo pocket detail over a dark gray long-sleeved acrylic v-neck top with contrasting shoulder panels, black slacks and black loafers.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I'm done with lunch and I definitely need a breath of fresh air." He took hold of Botan's elbow and steered her towards the glass door. On their way out, he dumped the contents of his tray in the trash bin and stacked the tray on the piled trays on the table near the exit.

Botan could feel the ominous stares of Kurama's fangirls on her back. She looked back over her shoulder and there they were, glaring evilly at her. She woodenly turned her head up front then looked at Kurama. His face had a fierce look and his eyes, when he took a glance at her, had a golden tint in them. Seemed like even the Youko was annoyed with the incessant flock of fangirls following him. When they got out of the cafeteria, she looked back again and saw that the girls were slinking slowly toward them, trying to listen in on their conversation.

"Don't look now, Kurama, but I think we are being followed," she whispered to him and pointed behind them.

"Kisama!" Kurama hissed under his breath. He dropped Botan's elbow, took her hand and pulled her along at a quick pace. "We'd better get out of here in a hurry." He started to hasten his brisk pace into a run when he saw his persistent fan club scurrying after them from his peripheral vision. He was beginning to get really pissed when he noticed the girls going at a full run to keep up with them, so he let go of her hand, swept her off her feet and carried her in bridal fashion. His run became a lope as he headed for the milling students hoping to loose his tail in the crowd.

After ten minutes of continuous running and hiding, Botan looked over his shoulders and saw that they finally were able to evade his fans. She noticed that they actually went through 2 buildings just avoid them. They were now hiding behind the University Press building. "I think we're safe now, Kurama-kun. You can put me down now." She patted him gently on his chest.

He looked at her and heaved a huge sigh of relief. His tensed shoulders sagged, let her go and dropped her back on her feet.

"I thought you'd be used to your fan club by now, Kurama-kun?" she whispered teasingly, giggled quietly and nudged him on the side.

Kurama grimaced, "I think I have just reached my saturation point in all of this. Not even one intelligent conversation from any of them. I know a lot of them were smart, because I have seen some of them interact actively in class. But whenever they get close to me, it's like they have this switch on their brains, they turn it off and become complete idiots." He whined in annoyance as he placed his right arm around her shoulders in an almost choking hold. "I really hope you're here take me away from all this today," he looked down at her pleadingly.

Well, you're in luck. I'm actually here to take you to Reikai. In fact, we really should be going now. She ducked under his hold, pulled his arm and dragged him to a shadowed corner for privacy. Koenma-sama expects us to be there when he gets back from Makai, she told him as she changed back into her kimono. She pulled out her oar, sat sideways, waited for him to settle next to her, and then soared into the sky. We'll have to pickup Yuusuke and Kuwabara before we proceed to Reikai, she shouted over her shoulder to Kurama.

Kurama hanged on as Botan soared high to pinpoint Hosei University where the remaining tantei were studying. As soon as the Ichigaya Campus was confirmed, Botan sped down in a spiral heading for the distinct reiki that both tantei emanated. The campus was near the subway of JR Sobu Line in Ichigaya, Tokyo.

_'Hmm… Seems like I won't have any trouble in picking them up,'_ Botan mumbled to herself.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kurama chuckled softly and shook his head when he saw that both delinquents were lazing on the rooftop of the Campus' gymnasium. He could see them standing and looking up where they were descending from.

The gymnasium, a five-storey building, was just one of the thirteen buildings in the campus. Yuusuke and Kuwabara both went to Hosei. Although the cafeteria in the campus was in the Student building, the two had agreed to regularly meet for lunch after buying some bento from the cafeteria and eating them together at the rooftop of the gymnasium.

Kuwabara Kazuma was a tall, plain-faced teen, with a presley-styled (A/N: for lack of better name) carrot top. He was the rival-turned-best friend of Yuusuke since junior high. He had decided, with the encouragement of his sister, Shizuru, to take up Bachelor of Arts in Lifelong Learning & Career Studies in college. Hosei University was the only institution in the country to offer such a course. The course focused on empirical as well as practical training in studies of Japanese, foreign culture, and educational and cultural business in contemporary society. Kazuma had developed an interest in it during his involvement with several tantei missions. With the breaking of the barriers between three worlds, he felt that the course would somehow bolster his interaction with various races in his work as one of Reikai's team.

Urameshi Yuusuke was the leader of the tantei team that Koenma personally handled. He had a slicked-back black hair showing a prominent widow's peak and had a cocky attitude. He had grown as tall as Kurama now. He was wearing black denim pants, a white muscle shirt and over it was a dark navy zip-front, long-sleeved tunic with single stripe across arms and shoulders. He wore white sneakers to complete the ensemble.

Being the Toushin (war god and one of the demon lords of Makai), who was once human, Yuusuke was burdened with the responsibility of taking care the citizens of his lands. That was the criterion for his decision to finish high school and go to college. He saw the course Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Communication from the brochure of Hosei University that Kuwabara was contemplating in going to. When he read that the focus of the course was to explore and discover ways of solving inter-cultural problems, including cross-cultural friction and misunderstandings, he knew right there and then that he had found the right path to take. Despite being a war god, he was aware that there were things that could not be solved by fists alone. With that in mind, he went with Kuwabara to take the entrance exam. With the help of lady luck, both teens passed.

Fortunately for them, both of their departments were located in the same campus of the university, Ichigaya Campus. The campus itself had its own gymnasium building that it gave them the opportunity to spar and exercise.

"Oi, Kurama! Botan-chan! What are you guys doing here?" Kuwabara screeched at them, waving his arms enthusiastically with a huge grin on his face. He wore a gunmetal cotton polyester short-sleeved t-shirt with v-neck collar & coloured side panels, tight blue jeans and dark brown nuback shoes

Both Botan and Kurama winced at his loud voice. Botan just hovered her oar near them while Kurama lightly landed on his feet in front of the two.

Do tell me that the Toddler have another mission for us? I sure hope so. I'm bored here! Yuusuke complained, shoving both hands in his side pockets of his jeans.

I really have no idea this time, Yuusuke-kun. I'm not privy to the information. Botan replied. You'll have to wait till we get to Reikai. We can't dally here any longer. Koenma-sama is probably on his way back from Makai and he's really expecting us to be there on his return. She took each of their hands and placed them on her oar. You'd better hold on tight. I have to fly fast to get there before he does.

Kurama immediately sat on the oar and held on to Botan's waist. Yuusuke and Kuwabara barely managed to grab her oar securely just before she zipped them all away from the rooftop without further warning. Outraged screams could be heard from both Yuusuke and Kuwabara as they felt the hard wind whooshing pass against their faces.

Chikuso! Why is it that the fox gets to sit on the oar while we only get to dangle? shouted Yuusuke. That pacifier-sucking toddler had better have a really good mission to make me go through this humiliation! he ranted.

Botan just ignored his ranting and sped back to Reikai. Kuwabara was too scared of the speed to say anything and had to hold on for dear life. Kurama just closed his eyes and prayed to any god who was listening, to let them reach their destination sane and intact. They broke through the clouds and barrier between worlds at high speed. They looked down and saw the long stretch of River Styx. At the end of the river, they could see the looming pagoda-like spires of the Gate of Judgment. Botan abruptly stopped in front of huge double doors and let her passengers dismount. She pressed the intercom on the wall and announced their presence. The doors slowly slid open, the ground shaking as those enormous doors came to a complete stop with a loud bang. A long stretch of darkened hallway was revealed. They hurried through it at Botan's prodding.

Their entrance to the opulent office of Koenma was met by an indignant shout from the said prince. George could be seen cowering in the left corner of the room, clearly fearful of his boss' ire. Koenma was pacing in front of his large desk with Hiei by his side giving him an apathetic look. When Koenma saw them enter, he stalked towards them, hovered over Botan and shoved his face into hers.

"What took you so long! I have specifically instructed you to return with these three," pointing at the tantei, "at once!" he snarled at her, eyes flashing in anger.

Gomen nasai, Koenma-sama! Honto ni gomen nasai! she bowed repeatedly in apology. We were delayed when Kurama-kun's fangirls decided to chase us around the campus. They were quite persistent and it took us about 10 minutes to completely lose them. We left once we were in the clear and picked up Yuusuke and Kuwabara-kun without delay. She explained quickly to prevent another outburst.

Back off, Koenma! Yuusuke grabbed Botan and placed her behind him. She flew us over here as soon as she found us. If we were delayed, then it was not her fault, he defended her. Anyway, we're here. Let's get this over with. I still have classes to attend to this afternoon and I'm sure the same goes for Kuwabara and Kurama.

Koenma went slack-jawed and bug-eyed at this. This was the first time that Yuusuke expressed any concern about school. He looked at the others and saw that it surprised them as well, except for Kuwabara.

What! What! Yuusuke noticed the sudden silence and looked around him. Che! Can't people change? He slouched, shoved his hand in his pocket and sulked. It's not like I love school. I just thought it's a necessary evil that I have to go through, he grumbled.

"Hn! The Toushin has matured," was all Hiei said, nodding his head in approval.

"Hasn't he?" Botan agreed and then beamed at Hiei. "Keiko must have been delighted."

Okay, enough! We're not here to marvel at Yuusuke's change of heart, declared Koenma. He went behind his desk and sat on his executive leather seat.

"We're not?" replied Kuwabara in his not so surprising display of comic idiocy. "He, he. Just kidding Koenma." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment when the prince glowered at him.

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" was all Kurama said. "Why have you called us? What's so pressing that you even risked your life going to Makai just to get Mukuro to let go of Hiei from his duties?" Kurama inquired.

"Yes, let's!" Koenma took a deep breath and calmed himself. "This is in relation to what happened yesterday, here in Reikai." He started. "A couple of days ago, a war was concluded in the wizarding world. This occurred in Great Britain, to be exact. The most evil wizard to ever exist, Voldemort, was finally annihilated."

Hold it right there! Yuusuke interrupted, putting up his right hand. What wizarding world? I thought there were only three worlds, not counting the Netherworld of Yakumo that was already destroyed. He asked, confusion clearly showed on the expression of his face.

"It's not really a different world. It's actually part of Ningenkai except that only those with magic can see and access them. Some of the non-magical humans who have immediate families with magic are aware of its existence," explained Koenma.

"Koenma-sama, I thought you said this assignment is related to what occurred here in Reikai. What does it got to do with the war?" A bewildered Botan asked.

I'll get to it if you two will allow me to finish without any further interruptions! Koenma exclaimed in exasperation. He glared at both Yuusuke and Botan, effectively shutting up the others from adding their two-bits.

"As I was saying, Voldemort was annihilated two days ago and we, in Reikai, were finally able to trace his soul and capture it. This guy died twice already but his soul managed to evade our ferry girls those two times. This man had caused a lot of unscheduled deaths all over Britannia," he shook his head in dismay over the wasted lives. "Anyway, his soul was brought here for judgment yesterday. Alas, it was also the day that Rando was to be transferred to a more secure prison. Tom Riddle, Voldemort's real name, saw a shackled Rando. Out of curiosity, he asked his guide about the demon. Aono was his guide and she told him all about Rando and his abilities. You know how she was." He put up his hand to cut off Botan from asking him the dreaded question. "Yes, Botan. You heard it right. I said _WAS_. Voldemort **and** Rando killed her. The four prison guards transporting Rando were also killed. Tom Riddle had completely escaped us again. But this time, he is in a demon's body that has its memories and skills still intact. Coupled with his powerful magic and possible access to Rando's youki, he will become an immensely powerful wizard and darn near invincible." Koenma explained with hands clasped tight on his desk.

All of them were riveted in place at the implication of what the prince just told them. Botan was silently crying in grief for the loss of a fellow guide and friend. Yuusuke saw this and pulled her in a consoling embrace while staring at Koenma.

"A few hours ago, I received a report about the footage taken by the security camera during the encounter. It seemed Rando was not a victim here like we first thought. From the data gathered about Riddle, it was clear that he is a master of Legilimency. This is a wizard skill that is equal to telepathy but a lot more intrusive. I have surmised that he tried to use this skill to impose his will on the demon. Somehow, Rando detected his attempt and blocked him. Instead, he volunteered the use of his body just to facilitate their escape. He was able to convey this offer in a matter of seconds when they passed by each other. And in those few seconds, Voldemort accepted his offer and possessed his body. With shared control, he was able to do his wandless magic to free them from the shackles and the demon killed Aono and the guards with his bare hands. Unluckily for him though, Tom Riddle is an expert in treachery. Once they were free from Reikai, Riddle restrained Rando's control over his own body with mere strength of will alone." Koenma explained to them grimly.

"Furthermore, Riddle is back in Britain. Right now he's laying low. There is good news though. Voldemort will need at least a couple of months to totally subdue Rando's will and have absolute control over the body and its youki."

George stopped cowering from his corner, brought some documents and handed them over to Koenma.

"This is where you guys come in. This is your mission," he told them gravely. "You are to infiltrate Riddle's hideout, neutralize his minions, the Deatheaters and obliterate their leader. I do mean Voldemort's soul and Rando. Both have exhausted all of their chances. You are to take them both out of existence!" Koenma's voice rang in finality.

Samhain - literally means "summer's end", a Celtic festival held on November 1st  
Tantei – detective or investigator  
Reikai – in YuYu Hakusho (YYH) or Ghost Fighter (as titled in the Philippines), this is the world or dimension of Spirits where the River Styx can be found. Ferry girls are like grim reapers who take the souls of the dead to be judged at the Palace  
Yaoi – homosexual relationships  
Oni – ogre  
Gomen nasai – I'm sorry  
Mukuro – she is one of the three demon lords who rule Makai  
Ningenkai – the world or dimension of humans  
Arigatou – thank you  
Ja ne – see you later  
Reiki – spiritual energy of humans and Reikai citizens  
Youko – Youko Kurama is the demon name of Kurama in his demon form, a 5-tailed silver demon fox. As a demon, he was a notorious thief in Makai  
Kisama – a swear word equivalent to 'shit' in English  
Chikuso – a swear word equivalent to 'damn it!' in English  
Honto ni gomen nasai – I'm really sorry  
Youki – demonic energy of demons


	2. Mission Briefing

**

Hogwarts' New Apprentices

**  
_by gyhardin_

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH and Harry Potter. We all know who own them. Mine is just the story plot.

Chapter 2: Mission Briefing

Everyone in the room was stunned by the grimness of this new mission. Koenma sifted through the documents that George gave him. He separated them in five different piles in front of him on the table and kept one in hand. He started briefing them on the particulars of the job.

"I have made arrangements to facilitate the start of your work. Genkai will help you out. She has a friend who is headmaster of the magic school here in Japan: Tsukimoto Keiichi of Ichinomahou Gakuen. He will gauge your power and abilities. Then he will provide the materials you'll need to go undercover in Britain." Koenma then pointed at the five piles of documents on the table, "These are the files on the details of the latest wizarding war, Voldemort, his Death Eaters, your allies, and the spy who will help you to get closer to the target."

Kurama approached the prince's table and picked up one of the piles. "Tell me, Koenma. What are the stakes here? How grave is the consequence of failure?" He started to browse through the documents. "How are we going to pass up as wizards and a witch when we have no idea what one does? We definitely could not pass as anything else but Asians. Well, maybe Botan can." Kurama raised valid questions.

"I can't stress it enough that this mission is of utmost importance. The safety of the three worlds depends on your success." Koenma looked at each of them intently. "Tsukimoto will take care of those things. I have already sent a message to Genkai and him detailing this concern."

Yuusuke appeared to be thinking deeply about this. Oi chibi! How long is this mission going to last? Is there a due date or something?

"You will take as much time as possible to carry this out. The important thing is to thwart Voldemort and take both him and Rando out permanently," Koenma explained. "I want you to be careful though. No innocents should be involved. It may take you a month or so to complete this."

A month or longer! That's out of the question! Kuwabara protested. We have college classes. Kurama, Yuusuke and I can't afford to be gone from our universities for as long as that.

"If you don't do this, Kuwabara, there won't be any universities to go back to if Voldemort succeeds." Koenma stood on his seat and slammed both tiny hands on the table as he pointed this out. "Don't worry, I have already made provisions for this. I have already assigned three people who will attend your classes in your guise for you," he assured them as he sat back down.

"I have my duties, Koenma, and they are not as trivial as the others. I cannot afford to be gone that long from my post. Other youkai might take advantage of this and some humans might wander into Makai." It was Hiei this time who voiced out his complaint with a frown on his face.

"I did talk this over with Mukuro. She already knew how crucial this job is. She also knew that you would bring up this subject. Well, Hiei, I have this ready for you," he pointed to the screen that just came down from the ceiling.

At first, there was just static, and then Mukuro's half-covered face came into focus. "Hiei, the Reikai prince told me all about the problem and the mission you will be undertaking. I understand the importance of it that's why I have given him your services. I know I should have consulted you first but it is imperative that you do this. The team needs you," the demon lord's countenance was fierce when she said this. Then her face softened, "don't worry, my fire demon, I have acquired the shinobi to take over your duties until you get back. Jin, Touya and rest of the shinobi will be discerning in taking care of any ningen who would accidentally cross the barrier, just like you have been in your job. Take care." The screen became static once again and then went blank.

The team was looking at Hiei during all this, trying to see how the koorime would react to it. They noticed that he was sporting a fond smile especially when Mukuro called him 'her' fire demon. There was certain possessiveness in her tone and it seemed like Hiei actually appreciated it.

"I hope you no longer have any more objections after that?" Koenma inquired.

"Hn!" was all Hiei uttered with a nod of his head indicating that he was amicable to the arrangement.

"Now listen, this is important." Koenma sat back on his seat. "The spy, a certain Severus Snape, has to keep his true loyalties secret. It is vital that when you interact with him, you do not show any considerations at all. He is a class-S bastard and he plays that role to perfection. You must not show any indication that you are aware of where his real sentiments lie. Not just because it will cost him his life but cost us inside information of Voldemort's Inner Circle." The prince pushed the remaining four piles of documents to the others except for Kurama. He was already looking through his share of files.

"You will to go to Genkai's place tomorrow morning. You will meet with Tsukimoto and he will brief you about magic and how it works. He will have to test and evaluate you so he will know how he will introduce you to Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the UK." Koenma dismissed them after this. He heaved a huge sigh of relief then slouched on his seat. He was completely drained both emotionally and physically.

George went out to get his boss some refreshment seeing that the prince was exhausted from the ordeal of the day. When he got back with a can of soda and a plate of cake in his hands, he saw that Koenma had buried his head under his arms.

George, I hope that Yuusuke and the team will be able to wrap this thing up in just a month with the barest minimum of casualty. I cannot bear to think of the destruction that this Voldemort wizard can perpetuate on all the three worlds now that he is aware of their existence, uttered Koenma in a tired voice.

The blue oni merely replied, "Koenma-sama, I believe in our tantei. They are the best in all three worlds." Then he left the prince to sleep and went out of the office. He told the other oni to leave the prince alone for a few hours and placed a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the doorknob as he closed the door to Koenma's office.

To be continued…

A.N. — Sorry that this is such a short chapter.


	3. Lord Meets Servant

**

Hogwarts' New Apprentices

**  
_by gyhardin_

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH and Harry Potter. We all know who own them. Mine is just the story plot.

Chapter 3: Lord Meets Servant

In an abandoned building a few miles from Hogsmeade, on the second floor of the dilapidated warehouse, a man in tattered clothes was writhing on the floor. His body was twisted in pain, arching and bowing his back as hexes were hurled at him. The fingers on his left hand were clenched in a tight fist, nails digging into his palms, and blood dripping. His stumped right arm, where a silver hand once graced it, was pounding on the floor as he belted out an agonized scream. His wand, a foot away from his body, was lying on the floor, useless against the onslaught of curses lobbed at him by a hooded man standing a meter far from his struggling person.

"How dare you! How dare you, you pathetic weakling! You dare to steal my things from me while I was unconscious? Did you really believe that you'd be safe in this crumbling warehouse? Did you hope that I won't be able to follow you and exact vengeance?" roared the man as he flung back the hood of his cloak and his eyes glowing red in the dark as he glared at the cowering man in front of him.

"Stop, please! I beg you, master!" the vagrant pleaded, panting and moaning in pain. "Forgive me! Have mercy, master! I didn't know you were still alive. I thought you were already dead. You were not breathing, master!" he hurriedly explained in a whimper.

"Dead?" was the incredulous exclamation. "Do I look dead to you, huh!" He came closer to the man. His face was illuminated by moonlight from the window in front of them. He had long red hair with an alabaster skin. His eyes were slanted and on the center of his face was a purple spider-like tattoo branching from the bridge of his nose.

The cursed man could now see that the stranger's eyes were pale brown not red like he thought it was, red like those of the dark lord. But this man standing over him looked more menacing than Tom Riddle. Even though the man's voice is high-pitched, it still carried a certain timbre in it that made his skin crawl.

"I looked for a pulse, master, but there was none." The beggar continued on his spiel. "Moreover, you don't look like you have been around these parts before." From the frown on the stranger's face, he knew that he needed to derail that line of thought and say something else. "You look really powerful, master. I think even more powerful than He-who-must-not-be-named-but-finally-dead, my former lord. You were able to cast the cruciatus curse on me over and over again without even a use of wand." Like the sycophant that he is, he laid it on thick to make the man spare his life. "I can show you around the country. I'll be your servant and be utterly loyal to you like I did with the Dark Lord before."

"And you will serve me again, Wormtail." The red-haired man stated a matter-of-factly. The disheveled man gave a loud gasp of surprise at this. "Ah yes, Pettigrew. It is indeed I, your Lord Voldemort. As you can see, I am still very much alive," Voldemort, who looked nothing like his former self, declared with a derisive grin. "Well, basically I am Lord Voldemort, just in a borrowed body. Borrowed permanently, that is." He laughed maniacally at this. He could feel Rando's will struggle violently when he divulged his plan on taking up permanent residence. He could not hide his mirth at the demon's panic and cackled at this. "Ah, but for now you can refer to me as Rando," he told Peter Pettigrew; inwardly he was mocking the demon by taking even his name.

Peter relaxed a bit and gave a silent sigh of relief when the stranger, who claimed to be the Dark Lord, relented his curses. He could feel painful spasms running throughout his body. He winced at the throbbing ache in his palm when he unclenched his fist. He propped himself up with his stumped arm and looked around trying to locate his wand while his resurrected Lord was busy laughing. _'He seemed to be amused at himself,'_ Peter thought through the haze of pain. While 'Rando' was distracted, Peter slowly crawled to where he had espied his wand and retrieved it.

"I hope you are not thinking of sneaking in a curse at me, are you Wormtail?" Voldemort asked Peter when he noticed the man cradling his wand in his bleeding hand. "I really don't want to slay you, Wormtail," he calmly warned Peter. "I do still have a need of you. You have proven yourself useful to me in the past and you will do so again."

"Oh no, my Lord. I was just retrieving my wand. I do have to clean myself up if I am to become your loyal henchman once again." Pettigrew groveled at Voldemort's feet.

"That is good to hear." Voldemort looked around the building, "this place is a bit shabby but I think we can make use of it. What do you think, Wormtail?" He turned to Peter and inquired. "Harry Potter and that blasted meddling Dumbledore would never know that their nemesis is just around the corner, still alive and even more powerful than ever." He had a satisfied smirk on his face when he said this. "Clean up this mess, Wormtail!" he commanded.

"Uhm, my Lord, I'm not really good with charms. I might botch it and make this place look worse than better. Are we going to use this place as our base of operations, my Lord?" he queried cautiously.

Voldemort let out an exasperated groan. "Do I have to do everything myself around here?" he whined unbecomingly. "Well, don't just sit there, get up and do something. Anything! Just do what you can and I'll provide the rest." Some of the real Rando's childish personality seeped through his bluster unconsciously.

"Of course, my Lord. It will be my pleasure to do your bidding, Lord Voldemort Rando, sir." He scampered on his feet and bowed low. He was a bit doubled-over from agony, his body still riddled (no pun intended) with spasms. Moans of pain could be heard escaping from his lips as he moved about, casting cleaning charms on himself and around the place.

"Once we have a livable domicile, I want you to tell me what had transpired during my so-called demise. I want you to tell me who among my loyal Death Eaters are still alive and have evaded capture. I need to know everything that has happened here so I can commence planning on our campaign to rule the wizarding world," thundered Voldemort. _'After that, we will conquer the Muggle World, Reikai and then Makai!'_ he chortled in obvious delight as he taunted the demon imprisoned by his will.

oo

Back in Japan at midnight, two of the tantei were attempting sleep in their respective homes.

Yuusuke, wearing his light blue jammies, tossed and turned on his bed as he pondered on how to break the news to Keiko. He knew she would not be happy about this mission. But then Keiko had mellowed a bit. She had stopped being a nag, now that she knew that he had a concrete direction in life. She finally had accepted that her fiancé was the Toushin and the leader of the investigative team of Reikai and so was bound to do missions for the prince. _'Basically, it's the distance that will anger Keiko. I will just have to promise her that I will keep in touch and that Koenma will keep her posted on our progress,'_ he reasoned to himself. He went through this thought over and found himself satisfied with the solution. He relaxed and finally went to sleep.

Kurama's conundrum right now was his mother. How would he broach this subject to Shiori? His mom was already aware that he was both human and demon and that he worked for Reikai as a tantei. Although for the most part, he had spared her from the knowledge that the majority of their missions were dangerous and he was doing this to serve his sentence as punishment for stealing one of the royal family's dark treasures. _'I guess I'll just have to call her tomorrow and tell her some truth. I'll let her know that I will be gone for a month or so on a mission for Koenma and that I'll be investigating Britain in this but spare her the details,'_ he thought this explanation would have to tide things over for the moment. He nodded to himself, got up from the couch to turn off the TV, went up the stairs to his bedroom and laid down on the bed to get some much needed sleep.

After a night of passion, Hiei and Mukuro were snuggled in bed deep in slumber with limbs entangled. Mukuro had waylaid Hiei as soon as he got back from Reikai. She clung to him and was even more passionate than before, knowing it would be quite some time for Hiei to come back to her.

Kuwabara talked to Shizuru about the mission when he got home that afternoon and she was all for it. Kuwabara being who he was, had no problems in getting his forty winks that night. He had his panda-colored tubby cat, Eikichi, snuggled on his side. _'We will just have to cope with tomorrow as it comes,'_ he mumbled to himself in his sleep.

To be continued…

A.N. — Your reviews inspire me. Please be patient. I will be updating the story as soon as I finish a chapter. (6/29/2k4) The next chapter will be out within the week. My laptop crashed down on me, especially the LCD so it took me quite awhile to get it working aside from reformatting the hard drive. After that, my cable modem was the next one to die down. At first I thought it was just the cable connection, it turned out it was actually the modem that no longer worked. Anyway, it almost took a month before I got an internet access again. So it was a couple of misfortunes that struck me. But I'm back and will continue on with this story.


	4. Dispensing of Wands

**Hogwarts' New Apprentices**  
by **_gyhardin_**

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I'm out of my slump now so will be back to writing again. Once I finish this one, I'll try to finish my other stories. BTW, thanks for every one of you who reviewed. Anyways, one of the reasons this chapter took a long while to write was because I have to do some research first on wands and magical creatures before I can proceed. Ok, enough excuses and on with the fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH and Harry Potter. We all know who own them. Mine is just the story plot.

Chapter 4: Dispensing of Wands

The next day, the tantei team was standing on the last top step of the stairs leading to Genkai's temple. There was certain bleakness in the air brought about by the severity of their mission. They were looking at each other; the air of reluctance was palpable around them.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Get in here!" Genkai's voice could be heard through the gate. Still not one of them made a move, seemed like they were frozen in place. "What? Are you waiting for formal invitations? We haven't got all day!" sarcasm-laced voice thundered at them.

That broke the tension among them and started a short bout of chuckling and giggling. After a few seconds of that tension-relieving hilarity, they composed themselves. Yuusuke and Kuwabara pushed open the gate and led the team inside.

Genkai was sitting on the wooden floor of the entrance to the temple sipping some hot tea. Puu, Yuusuke's demon phoenix familiar, was running to and fro in the yard. Its ponderous body, chasing playfully at some squirrels, was causing some slight tremors in the grounds and trees. Yukina was sitting primly on the steps of the temple, listening to the chirps of the blue jays on her shoulders.

As soon as Yuusuke and his team entered the yard of the temple proper, Puu abandoned its chase and frantically darted towards its master. It buried Yuusuke under its fluff of feathers and rubbed its beak affectionately on his cheek.

"Get off me, you big oaf!" yelled Yuusuke as he wheezed and tried to gasp for air. He pushed his enormous familiar off of him and dusted himself off. Puu hung its head in apology and slowly trailed after him. It perked up quickly though when Yuusuke looped his arm fondly around its long neck.

"Kazuma-kun, you're here!" Yukina cried out happily. The birds on her shoulders flew away when she hurriedly stood up and rushed over to Kuwabara. Yukina had grown a few inches taller and looked more mature than a couple of years before.

"Yukina-chan! You're looking more beautiful every time I see you." Kuwabara gushed amorously at her. He took both of her hands in his, held them against his chest and gazed into her eyes ardently. Yukina looked up at him and blushed prettily as she smiled. Both them were too absorbed with each other, in a world of their own.

Hiei cringed at the sight before him. No matter how much he disliked the loud-mouthed ahou, he could not begrudge his sister her happiness. He, like his twin sister, had finally grown height-wise as well. He was not as tall as the other guys in the team, but at least he topped Botan some few inches. He still wore his usual outfit of black on black with his katana hidden beneath its folds.

Kurama and Botan went directly to Genkai and bowed in greeting. Yuusuke pushed Puu towards the forest to resume its play. The demon phoenix ambled away headed for the trees as Yuusuke approached his sensei.

"Knock it off, you two!" barked Genkai at the two lovebirds, startling them both back to reality. "This is not a social call. You are here on assignment. Let's get to it." She waited until the two joined the others, then she set her teacup down on the tray. She handed it over to Yukina who promptly took it to be washed in the kitchen. Then Genkai stood up and led them all inside.

As they reached the training hall, they were greeted by an unexpected popping sound. All four men leaped in front of the women and took on a defensive stance. At the center of the hall, where the sound originated, stood a distinguished bearded gentleman in blue and black robe.

"Ah just right on time. Ohayou gozaimasu, Tsukimoto-san," greeted Genkai with a deep bow of her head to the man.

"So formal, Genkai-chan. Ohayou to you too." Tsukimoto Keiichi gave a slight bow and a smile at her. "You are still the same. Small as ever," the elderly wizard teased her, eyes twinkling.

"And you're as incorrigible as ever, Keiichi-kun," deadpanned Genkai. "Make yourself useful, Keiichi. I don't want to stand all day!" She challenged with a glare.

Tsukimoto just ignored her and approached the others. "So these are the people that Koenma-san is sending to Britain ." He looked them over one by one. "Don't you think they're awfully young to be sent on such a critical mission? And to actually expect them to face and take out Voldemort and his cohorts, it's preposterous!" He shook his head in dismay then looked back at Genkai.

"Do not be deceived by their youth, Keiichi. They are all battle-tested and have successfully carried out all of their missions." Genkai assured him. "Be at ease, boys. This is my friend, Tsukimoto Keiichi. He is the headmaster of Mahounoichi Gakuen, our country's school of Magic,.He is here to assist you." She faced the team and introduced the wizened wizard.

"I can't really say that '_it's a pleasure to meet you_' for the circumstance is hardly pleasant. Nevertheless, from what I have heard from your sensei here and the Reikai Lord, you are the only hope of both the muggle and wizarding worlds." Tsukimoto bowed deeply in respect to them after Genkai introduced each one of them to the wizard. "Still, I am indeed pleased to have met you and be of some assistance."

The guys merely nodded their heads in acknowledgment while Botan reciprocated the same courtesy towards the distinguished gentleman. The wizard looked around him and saw unlit wall sconces. He took out a long stick from his voluminous robe's left sleeve and waved it with a graceful flick of his wrist and whispered some words pointing at each of the sconces inside the hall. Eight sconces started levitating off their perch on the wall and were placed on the floor in front of them in an oval fashion and one in the center. The team merely raised their eyebrows at this display of magic. Nothing surprised them anymore. However, Botan gave a loud gasp of delight when she saw those sconces were turned into comfortable chairs and a long table. Tsukimoto-san merely nodded his head at them and gestured them towards the seats and table.

Genkai simply seated herself on one of the chairs as if it was an everyday occurrence. The others warily touched the chairs to ascertain the reality of their existence before they sat. Tsukimoto took the only one at the end of the table. Various things began to appear on the table in front of him. A couple of inkwell, five quills, and scrolls of parchment were among those that appeared.

"What you have seen me do is what we, wizards and witches, normally do. Magic is our way of life." Tsukimoto started to explain to them. "I know you have had no inkling that such magic exists but it does. Before I came here, I went to the Ministry and rechecked the registry list of children from nine years ago up to the present. Still none of your names have come up in the list, whether pureblood or muggleborn. So I am uncertain if any of you have an aptitude for it. Children with magic start their education at the age of eleven and this last for seven years. That's why in this instance, we cannot pass you up as exchange students when you go to Britain . You are all simply too old to be one. However, I have just recently heard from my friend, Albus, that they are offering apprenticeship at Hogwarts. We will make use of that opportunity."

He looked at each of the team's face and saw them in rapt attention. He nodded and carried on, "what I can do is to give you some background information on magic and provide you all with sufficient training in a magic you will be involved in. I will need your full cooperation if I am to gauge your abilities and find out which branch of magic you will most likely be apprenticed to. For the most part, I will be giving you some questionnaire that I will need you to answer instinctively and truthfully. The questionnaires are designed to find out what branch you have an affinity to. I can't teach you everything about magic because we simply don't have the time to waste. Afterwards, we will need to get each of you a wand. I will have my trusted friend, Eiji, to bring his array of wands with him so you can choose. Or rather, see if any of the wands respond to your touch, then we'll know if you can do magic."

"Is the wand that stick you were waving around when the sconces were taken off the wall and changed into chairs and table?" Botan interrupted the wizard and asked.

"Well, yes. That was indeed a wand. However, wands are specially made for wizards and witches. They are made from special wood that have magical substance at their core." The wizard explained. "I will let Eiji explain further on wands when he gets here if you want to know more about them."

The headmaster stood up from his seat and distributed a scroll and a quill to each of those gathered, except to Genkai. The group unrolled their scrolls and then held their quill in hand. Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei were all puzzled at what to do with the quill. Both Botan and Kurama just looked at the inkwell that Tsukimoto placed in their midst and shook their heads at the outdated mode of writing. Good thing though that each of them brought their own pens with them. So they discarded the quills and took out their pens from whichever pocket they were hidden in and started to read and answer the questionnaire. Genkai merely nodded at Tsukimoto for him to carry on.

"Please, do not ask each other for answers. There is neither right nor wrong answer and none of the scrolls have the same questions. The set of questions only appear as a response to your touch, you can say they are highly personalized. I will leave you to it for now. I will be back in an hour with Eiji and his wands," said the wizard before he apparated out of the temple.

They all knew that they had to take this seriously and so each was absorbed in answering the scroll. One by one, the tantei placed their pens on the table and heaved sighs of relief. Yuusuke was slouched on his chair with his left arm slung on the back rest, Hiei stood up and started pacing to and fro in impatience, Kuwabara laid his head on the table with his hands hanging on his sides, and Kurama had his arms crossed and his chin resting on his chest with eyes closed. Botan was simply doodling on the piece of parchment that she tore off from the blank end of the scroll to while away the remaining minutes before the hour ended. Meanwhile, Genkai got off her chair and left the room, leaving them to their own devices.

With the sound of a loud pop, Tsukimoto reappeared with another man who bore a large trunk. Yuusuke unslung his arm and sat up straight. Kuwabara was startled awake and wiped a small trail of drool dribbling down his chin with the end of his left sleeve. Hiei stopped pacing and went back to his seat. Kurama stood up, approached the men and peered at the trunk in curiosity, which seemed to be loaded with transparent slender boxes. Botan hid the scrap of paper she was doodling on in her pants' back pocket.

"Lady and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Eiji Toshio. He's the only wandmaker in Asia . He will provide you with wands." He gestured towards the stooped man wearing a yellow robe with blue lining. "I'll leave them in your capable hands, Toshio," he gave the wandmaker a slight bow then turned to the tantei. "Please hand over the scrolls and I'll be assessing each of you based on your answers. While I do this, you can proceed with choosing a wand. One by one, please." The headmaster collected the scrolls; sat down and laid open one scroll on the table to begin.

Genkai returned with a tray of tea and manjuu. She placed a cup in front of Tsukimoto, poured him tea and served him a couple of custard-filled manjuu on a small plate. She sat down on the left seat next to the wizard, drank her tea and nibbled on a bun. The rest were anxiously watching the wandmaker choose a wand for Botan. It clearly showed that each box in the trunk held a wand inside.

Eiji held out an opened box to Botan that has a 10-inch dark stick, motioned for her to pick it up and then instructed her to wave it around gently. When she waved the wand, nothing happened. Eiji took back the wand and gave her another wand to try. She did the same thing and the same thing occurred, NOTHING. The wandmaker started to grumble under his breath when after twenty tries, still none of the wands responded. He started to think the girl had no magical ability whatsoever. Then he remembered the most unusual wand he had ever made in his life that he left it at the very bottom of the trunk. He rummaged through the boxes to get it.

"Aha!" Eiji exclaimed brandishing the wand and presented it to Botan with a flourish. "This wand was the first that I had made since I started my profession. I might have gone overboard a bit with it though. I was inspired to make one that represented healing, innocence and death during my experimental stages." He was met with wide-eyed apprehension from Botan, hands stopped mid-grasp as soon as he mentioned the word 'death'. "Come, ojousan. There's nothing to worry about. Take it and give it a wave."

Botan reluctantly accepted the ten-inch wand and hesitantly made a small wave with it. A gentle whoosh was heard coming from the wand, then it radiated a dark cold energy bound in pink and healing green spirals of light, then it dissipated in the air after it made a few rounds around the room. Despite the initial trepidation, Botan beamed a happy smile at her friends and gripped the wand with both hands.

"Strange power you have there, my dear," the wandmaker marveled, looking at her as she hurried back to her seat. "That wand was created from sandalwood with unicorn tail hairs and the essence of barghest for its core and the base bound tight with a strip off a dementor's shroud. That is the only wand that I have made and to ever exist with substances taken from two different and opposing magical creatures for its core and bound by yet another magical substance. It would seem that I had been guided to make this wand specifically for you." He explained as he shook his head, "most unusual, indeed." Eiji clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "Okay, next!" He pointed at Hiei.

Hiei warily approached the wandmaker and glared at the wand that was shown before him. The fire demon snatched the wand and gave it a snappy flick of his wrist. There was no response. He tossed it back to Eiji in complete disdain, sneered then turned his back from the wandmaker and started to walk away. '_I don't need any ridiculous sticks to do my job,_' Hiei muttered to himself but it was loud enough for Eiji to hear.

"Matte!" Eiji grabbed the koorime's cloak and pulled him back. "We're not done yet. I still have hundreds more wands for you to try. We won't stop till you find the right one." Again, he rummaged through the trunk hoping to find one that would actually suit the boy. He didn't exactly like the way the young man glared and sneered at him, it was too malevolent to his liking. He found one box off the side that housed a quite temperamental wand as the young man before him. Inside was a nine-inch very dark, almost black, ash wood with claw shavings of a fire salamander at its core. "Here, give this a try."

Hiei peered at the wand curiously, drawn by the dark hue of the wood and the muted fire-crackling energy that the stick seemed to exude. Before he could stop himself, Hiei found himself softly caressing the length of the stick with the tip of his forefinger. He snatched his hand back, looked up at Eiji and glowered when he saw him smiling benignly, urging him to try the wand. He cautiously took the wand and made a single flick of his wrist. Immediately, he was suffused with dark crimson flickering flames. He could tell that the wand was trying its best to dissuade him from choosing it. Unfortunately for the wand, its holder was in fact a fire demon who found its antics quite laughable. Hiei held on to the wand until it conceded that he could and would wield it competently.

The flames surrounding Hiei subsided, showing him holding the wand triumphantly with a smirk on his face. It was a telltale sign to Eiji that the wand had indeed found the young man acceptable. He was relieved that it only took the lad two tries to find a wand that would respond to his touch. He shooed off Hiei right after he told him about the properties of the wand in his possession.

"Me! I'm next." Kuwabara waved his hand frantically in the air. He skipped over to the wizard, clasped his hands behind him and rocked on his heels.

The wandmaker merely raised his right eyebrow at his antics and presented him with a wand. Kuwabara, though, shook his head and declined from touching the wand. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply then slowly his body started to emanate an orange aura. He, then, reached out his hand inside the trunk. He skimmed his fingers through boxes of wands for a minute or so, and then withdrew a box containing an eleven-inch wand made from acacia wood with a griffin feather at its core. Kuwabara gently took out the wand from the box, and whispered softly to the wand, "_It's okay. I'm here now. I'll take good care of you. We'll be partners from now on."_

Eiji was taken aback when the wand actually responded to the young man's gentle murmurings by suffusing the boy with a yellow glow. That was the first for the wandmaker to see one respond to mere talk from its handler instead of the normal wand waving and this to a wand that he thought was a dud. It seemed to him that these youngsters were a strange bunch. He now wondered what would happen to the remaining two lads on their wand selection. Seemed to him that lad with long red hair, was to be next in line since the other one left the room. He braced himself within for the next odd occurrence to happen as the young man approached him.

Kurama approached the wandmaker at a leisurely pace. The young man exuded extreme confidence in his stride that struck Eiji as odd for one so young. Eiji shook his head in amusement at the lad in front of him. "Now, let's see what wand would suit you." He started to turn to the trunk when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He straightened out and looked back at Kurama. "Eh? Is something wrong?" he inquired.

"How about I make this easier for you, Eiji-san," he offered to the wandmaker. He extended a graceful hand, pointed at the trunk and asked, "Do you have one in there with kitsune hair?"

"Hmm... Now that you mention it. Yes, I do think I have one here." Eiji began rummaging through the boxes until he brought out a box with a 10-inch greyish brown-coloured wand inside. As he showed the wand, Eiji explained, "This one was specially-made from a branch willingly given by the only existing whomping willow in the world. The tree is especially fierce in its protectiveness when the moon is full. The magical substance at its core was not just from any kitsune hair, but those from a kyuubi. They were actually given to me by Kuzu-no-ha years ago. She told me that someday, someone from her family will need them. So I hope you understand if I feel some trepidation on letting you try this one."

The wandmaker was reluctant in giving the wand to Kurama when he held out his hand to try it. "Don't worry, Eiji-san. If this wand won't accept me, then you can find me a different one." Kurama reassured him. However, as soon as the wand touched the redhead's palm, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the whole room. When the light dimmed, a spectre of an enormous ethereal silver vixen was right beside Kurama. Its nine tails were curled around him and its muzzle rubbed his cheek in affection before it disappeared. A collective silence ensued. An air of melancholy permeated Kurama.

"Oi, Kurama! Was that your mom?"The silence was broken by the loud yell from Yuusuke. When everyone looked back at the kitsune, they could see the tears that started to bead at the corners of his eyes. Finding everybody's attention was on his face, Kurama quickly dabbed his eyes with his sleeve and gripped the wand hard. "I'll take this." Kurama uttered fiercely and quickly left the room without waiting for a response from the wandmaker. Eiji simply nodded his acquiescence, staring wide-eyed at the retreating back of the kitsune.

The Toushin went out to play with Puu when he got impatient at the tedious process of obtaining a wand and awaiting his turn. He let twenty minutes pass by before he went back in. He sped along the hallway when he saw a burst of light coming from the training hall. He skidded to a halt though when he was greeted by the sight of an enormous ghostly image of a silver nine-tailed vixen coiled around the Youko. From what Yuusuke could see, the vixen seemed to have a motherly tender expression on her face. This made him surmise that this female fox just might be Kurama's mom. Yuusuke instantly regretted his outburst when he saw the sudden stiffening of the kitsune's body and the tightening of the expression on his face. He quickly stepped out of Kurama's way when the Youko barreled out of the room.

"Kurama!" cried out Botan. Worried about him, she tried to follow Kurama outside. A firm grip on her shoulders kept her from going after the guy. "Leave him be, Botan." Yuusuke whispered to her firmly. "Allow him his space to regain his composure." The Toushin brought his arm around the girl, shouted rudely at the wandmaker as he led her back into the room, "Oi, O-jiji! Is it my turn now?" The wandmaker nodded and gestured for Yuusuke to approach him.

Yuusuke sauntered over with cool arrogance and stood next to the trunk of wands. He peered over the wizard's shoulder and took a peek at the trunk. "Judging from the wands that the rest of your companions had obtained, I would rightly guess that yours, too, would be an unusual one." Eiji muttered resignedly over his shoulder towards the Toushin. "If I'm lucky, the last one I made will probably be for you. This one was created when I was struck by a powerful compulsion to make as soon as I picked those three large odd blue-black feathers that littered the entrance of a cave just outside of Tokyo half a decade ago." The wizard complained unceasingly while looking for the elusive wand. "Aha! Found you at last!" he exclaimed triumphantly. Eiji turned around, holding a box of another 10-inch wand and took off the cover. "Here, take it!" He shoved the box to Yuusuke and murmured, "This one is probably yours." The wizard didn't even wait for the result before he magicked away his wandsful of trunk and apparated out of the temple. Kurama returned inside to join them andwatchedthe old man take off in a huff.

The other four in his team looked at Yuusuke in question at the sudden departure and the Toushin merely shrugged his shoulders in reply. "Well, don't just stand there, take out the wand and try it." Kuwabara egged him on as he slapped him on the back. When Yuusuke grabbed the wand, three playful blue-black wisps of light appeared and trailed all over his body from toe to head. As soon as the wisps reached the crown of his head, they went back down to his body to converge in front of his chest, circled in frenzy before they entered his heart as one and vanished. Yuusuke smiled because when thhose lights disappeared, he was left with a feeling of wistful affection for his familiar. The tantei gazed at each other and grinned, well, except for Hiei who simply smirked. Armed with the proof of their magical potential, the team approached the remaining wizard.

"Uhm... Sumimasen, Tsukimoto-san." Botan tiptoed towards the wizard. Tsukimoto held up his forefinger to cutoff the ferry girl and finished his assessment on them. Botan clamped her lips shut and waited the wizard out. Everyone was silent, waiting. After a couple of minutes, the old man finished with a flourish, exclaiming, "There! I'm done!" He looked up, his eyes twinkling. "So, do all of you have your own wand?" he asked them merrily. All five nodded positively. "Good. Toshio..." he trailed off as he looked around the room and couldn't find a trace of the other wizard. "Hmmm... what happened to Toshio?" the headmaster wondered. He eyed Yuusuke for an answer and got a shrug in response. "He left," the Toushin simply stated.

Tsukimoto's brows furrowed thinking at the departure and merely rationalized that the wandmaker must have an urgent business to attend to. "Oh well... I guess you would like to know the result of your assessment, now. At the nod of their heads, Tsukimoto motioned to the chairs, "Please take a seat and I'll begin."

_...to be continued_

A/N: Just received a review on this chap commenting on its slow progress. See, I don't like half-baked stories and I certainly wouldn't write mine as one. Besides, it only seem slow because the readers only get to read one chapter at a time. On one hand, none of the tantei have knowledge on the existence of a wizarding world. On the other, one of the main points of their mission is infiltration. I want to do away with these explanations in this chapter so that the next ones will proceed more smoothly and go to the meat of the story. (To **t.a.g.0** - thanks for the heads-up, I have modified the name. )

Update (06/24/2005) - It will take some time before I can post the next chapter. Life caught up with me and I have to take care a lot of things before I can go back to this. I've already started with the chapter and outlined it but I still need to do more research before I can continue. Anyways, in the next chap the tantei-tachi will be learning their respective branch of magic,then will travel to Britain and meet up with the HP charas.

To **Mini-MoonStar** - Kurama is not a weepy kitsune, it just so happened that the sudden appearance of his mother's spectre had caught him off-guard, thus, resulting in an onslaught of tender emotions for someone he had not seen for a long, long time. If you read closely, you would know that there were no tears falling so you can't say that our fave kitsune was being weepy.

To **LaBOBuren** - No need to be angry. I'm sorry but it is Yuusuke. In the English version, it is indeed Yusuke but in the original it's Yuusuke (romanji).

Next - Chapter 5: Learning Magic

JAPTIONARY:  
Ahou - moron  
Katana - japanese long sword  
Ohayou gozaimasu - good morning  
Manjuu - a small roll-like bun with filling (very tasty )  
Ojousan/o-jousan - calling a girl 'miss'  
Matte - wait  
Koorime - an ice youkai. Hiei is actually half koorime and half hi-youkai. (Thanks goes to **Aiiro-bara** for correcting me on this info.)  
Kyuubi/kyuubi no kitsune - nine-tailed fox. A kitsune granted with most power and have won favor from the god of fertility, Inari.  
Kuzu-no-ha - one of the benevolent kitsunes in history that was the anti-thesis of a famous kitsune in history, Tamamo-no-Mae, who is known for her cruelty and death that her presence brings.  
Oi - hey  
O-jiji - a familiarly way of calling an old man. A play on the word 'ojisan', meaning uncle.  
Sumimasen - excuse me


End file.
